Digital Climate Control Fix
09-20-2010, 05:19 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Digital Climate Control Fix
For those with buttons that don't seem to work I figured out the problem with our 86's digital climate control. Half the buttons wouldn't work right and the up button worked great but if you wanted to lower the temp you were out of luck.
Here is the fix. Buy a new faceplate. This is the one I purchased for $60 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-8...essories(using the best offer feature).
Remove the control by doing what many of us have done a dozen or more times. Remove cover to dash cluster then remove center dash cover. The climate control is screwed in and a couple of them are real ****** to get out. Once they are unscrewed you can pull out the climate control. You may find it easier to remove the radio then the climate control. I worked mine out after snipping the prongs a little to allow some more room.
Once you get it out remove the little holders on each side which allows you to separate the front of the control from the back. Then take a hobby knife and cut off the little black plastic bubbles on the circuit board. They are what hold the circuit board to the faceplate. There are a dozen or so of them between the solder points.
Then pry the faceplate from the circuit board. Since your buttons were giving you trouble there may not be many of those black plastic nubs to cut off.
Once you have the two separated bring out your new faceplate. Put the rubber button pieces where they are supposed to go then see how well the circuit board and your new faceplate line up. If you are like me you will have to move some of the black prongs a little bit and use a hobby knife to make some of the holes a little bigger. Once it is on good I clamped the two together then used a soldering iron to melt the ends of the black plastic prongs. I also put a little drop of gorilla glue on each of them so that they would hold. Let it sit overnight to dry then take it out and hook it up. Bam! your buttons work.
I'll add pics later but I searched here for an answer and never found it explained so I decided to throw this together to help out those like me.
Here is the fix. Buy a new faceplate. This is the one I purchased for $60 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-8...essories(using the best offer feature).
Remove the control by doing what many of us have done a dozen or more times. Remove cover to dash cluster then remove center dash cover. The climate control is screwed in and a couple of them are real ****** to get out. Once they are unscrewed you can pull out the climate control. You may find it easier to remove the radio then the climate control. I worked mine out after snipping the prongs a little to allow some more room.
Once you get it out remove the little holders on each side which allows you to separate the front of the control from the back. Then take a hobby knife and cut off the little black plastic bubbles on the circuit board. They are what hold the circuit board to the faceplate. There are a dozen or so of them between the solder points.
Then pry the faceplate from the circuit board. Since your buttons were giving you trouble there may not be many of those black plastic nubs to cut off.
Once you have the two separated bring out your new faceplate. Put the rubber button pieces where they are supposed to go then see how well the circuit board and your new faceplate line up. If you are like me you will have to move some of the black prongs a little bit and use a hobby knife to make some of the holes a little bigger. Once it is on good I clamped the two together then used a soldering iron to melt the ends of the black plastic prongs. I also put a little drop of gorilla glue on each of them so that they would hold. Let it sit overnight to dry then take it out and hook it up. Bam! your buttons work.
I'll add pics later but I searched here for an answer and never found it explained so I decided to throw this together to help out those like me.
09-20-2010, 05:42 PM
#2
Melting Slicks
Yep, the faceplate replacement is a great renewal on the climate controls, also if you're short on cash, cleaning the circuit board with contact cleaner and an eraser will also do the trick 99% of the time.
09-20-2010, 06:45 PM
#3
Racer
Thread Starter
I had already tried the eraser trick. If I had known what those little black tabs were for I would have known that was my problem when I had it out.
